uSwitch Mobiles

Android BlackBerry Messenger snapped

Images of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) for Android phones have apparently surfaced online, pooh-poohing the naysayers who claimed the instant messaging service would never cross the OS divide.

Leaked to TechRadar by an anonymous employee of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM), the snaps clearly show the BBM icon on an Android kit’s homescreen, as well as a contact profile page. Both of which it must be said look a little bit rough around the edges right now.

According to RIM’s source, however, the application is in advanced stages of testing, with a provisional due date before the end of the year.

The appearance of the photos comes after a slew of industry experts dismissed speculation that the best-in-class IM service BBM would ever come to a rival platform, lest RIM’s phones lose what’s essentially their USP.

Alongside phones running Google’s OS, a version of BBM for iPhones is also strongly rumoured to be in development.

If that’s so, they’ll need to be quick about getting it out there. Apple’s official iMessage app, which replicates BBM, is set to be a big part of tomorrow’s iPhone showcase, as the Cupertino-based giant looks to press home its advantage at the top of the smartphone tree.

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